A farmer’s daybook is where they note everything going on with their herd; milk yields, health, behaviours, emotional states. Our online daybook is where you can keep up to date with the latest goings-on on the farm.
Maya, Miriam and Louisa kicked the year off by attending the Oxford Real Farming Conference.
The farm and garden team have just planted almost a thousand plants on the farm to create a new hedge.
It has long been a policy of Biodynamic husbandry to keep cattle with horns. As well as the aesthetic value, the horns have an important function in the life of the cow.
Your choice to shop directly with your local farms is more important than you may realise.
Approaching the halfway mark in my 2-year placement here at Old Plaw Hatch Farm, the coming of the shorter days has allowed me to reflect on what has been one hell of a ride this past year.
Growing vegetables in a political climate that has very little understanding of how food actually gets from the producer to anyone’s kitchen table (let alone the unpredictability of that same climate) means we are very grateful to the crops that have been successes, and we move on quickly from those that were or are, to put it bluntly, failures. Let me briefly talk you through our growing year so far…
Recently we’ve seen a real surge in new customers and have also noticed that existing customers are coming much more frequently and seem to be doing the majority of their food shopping with us. These changes are rarely down to one thing, and I believe at the moment there are several reasons.
Firstly, because we would really love you to. Of course, at an AGM there is the dry procedural stuff, it’s a legal requirement, but there is so much more. It’s an opportunity to hear directly from the people who grow your food.
The summer is flying by and we have already started to get the first harvests off the fields like onions, potatoes and squash. The Spring was very late this year, however, Summer is not over yet.
Recently we’ve seen a real surge in new customers and have also noticed that existing customers are coming much more frequently and seem to be doing the majority of their food shopping with us. These changes are rarely down to one thing, and I believe at the moment there are several reasons.
Read MoreHuge congratulations to Josie, our butchery apprentice, for completing her apprenticeship and becoming a fully qualified butcher!
Read MoreA few weeks ago, Peter, Josie and I wound our way through the leafy lanes of Somerset to the River Cottage Headquarters for a day long course.
Read MoreFor hundreds of years beef dripping, also known as tallow or beef fat, was found in the larder of most households. This was THE fat used for frying, baking, and even smearing on skin as a moisturiser. Not only is beef dripping delicious, it is also very healthy.
Read MoreSmall local abattoirs are essential for organic farmers across Sussex and Kent, but they are closing at an alarming rate. Your voice might help to make a difference.
Read MoreAt the heart of the farm, walked past by many and yet noticed by few, clear water rises up from the depths of the earth and flows forth, nourishing plant, animal and human alike.
Read MoreThe Plaw Hatch Butchery is in full summer barbecue mode!
Read MoreThe cost of chicken has risen by 10% recently due to the increased cost of feed. All the more reason to be grateful for the wonderful organic pasture reared birds we get from our supplier, Springfield Poultry.
Read MoreLast September Josie Rollings began her career as a butcher at Plaw Hatch.
Read MoreFor years I have waited for the pendulum to swing from industrialised farming back to farming that takes more than just human needs into consideration. I have to say that I was rather taken aback when the pendulum swung straight past us and towards veganism. I hope, with more time and understanding, that the pendulum will swing back to farmers like the farmers at Plaw Hatch.
Read MoreOur butchery process 720 sausage a week to be sold in the shop. Jayne tells where she originally got her inspiration for the traditional recipes she’s been using for the last ten years.
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What we’re doing for our cows and customers.